Quebec’s Université Laval to Welcome Controversial On-Campus Supermarket
Major corporations contribute significant funds to North American universities and, like it or not, this financing helps guarantee the undeniable quality of American academics. But should companies be allowed to operate retail outlets on campuses, all in the name of research?
Despite public furor over the issue, the administrative council of Quebec’s Université Laval has approved the idea of a “supermarket-school” on its campus, reports Radio-Canada. If the project is carried out, it could be the world’s first official university supermarket.
Besides providing shopping services, the store would be used for research about consumer behaviour. Sobeys, the front-runner for the project, has promised 2 million Canadian dollars to create a research chair in retail sales and distribution in exchange for the land for the 5,000 square meter supermarket.
Student demonstrators , fearing the influence of a private company in academic matters, plan to continue their protests and hope to derail the project before next fall’s final approval.
“Today it’s Sobey’s, tomorrow it will be Wal-Mart, McDonald’s or IBM,” mused Ana Lucia Araujo, president of the AELIES student association in the April issue of University Affairs magazine.
I suspect the idea has already crossed a few corporate minds.
